The Budget last week saw the first ever allocation to the new Office of the Minister for Integration. It was another first for the new ministry, which was established less than six months ago. And against a background of a modest overall growth of eight per cent in day-to-day spending by Government, the allocation to the Integration Ministry was generous.
Line ministers were this year forced to either make savings or pare back on existing spending lines because of a new, more strict system of controlling State spending devised by the Minister for Finance Brian Cowen. The downturn in residential construction and the building boom that went with it has meant a sharp retrenchment in State exchequer receipts. The 9.2m euro given to the Office of the Minister for Integration represents an effective doubling of the core amount spent on integration measures from what was previously available to the division that handled integration matters in the Department of Justice.
Of course, this allocation of core resources does not cover the amount of money spent outside the new ministry. In the Department of Education, for instance, some 85m euro is spent on maintaining language teaching in the classroom.
One of the first jobs in 2008 will be to conduct a rigorous department-by-department audit of where and how existing spending is being allocated, in order to address the needs of newcomer communities. In this respect, the decision by Minister Hanafin to focus the Education spend into the rapidly expanding communities throughout the country will greatly benefit the migrant communities that have developed in recent years.
Countries that we have seen fail with regard to handling immigration have tended to neglect social and urban housing planning and have inevitably found urban ghettos created where the migrants concentrated. The proper integration of newcomers therefore demands that we mainstream the immigration issues into the set of social cohesion policies that we have already evolved from our own transition from a high unemployment society to one that’s the opposite.
We have the distinct advantage here in Ireland of having the luxury to learn from the mistakes made by other European countries on this issue. Recently, at a meeting of European ambassadors represented in Dublin, the point about housing concentrations was continually made. The ambassadors also strongly felt that migrants needed to be immersed early in the learning of the language of the country. This seems basic, but is something that was neglected in other parts of Europe.
In 2008 the State hopes to put a renewed emphasis on the provision of English language services to adult migrants. In addition to this, my ministry will begin funding lines with regard to faith-based organisations involved with migrants and the large membership organisations that drive civic participation, and for local authorities to ramp up their efforts on integration at a local level. Some of the key institutions I intend appointing include a standing ministerial council for integration drawn exclusively from the migrant community, a new task force on integration to recommend policy solutions for the medium to long term, and finally a standing commission or forum on integration that will become a focal point for everyone hoping we succeed on this issue.
The new Office of the Minister for Integration will never be a big-budget portfolio. It was never intended as such. The main job of the new office is to get other departments, and the wider public and private sectors, to do their job correctly by migrants. The strength and authority of the new office will stem from how effective it can be in terms of persuading other actors to become wired up on integration issues.
There are very strong arguments, even from the most basic of economic reasons, as to why Ireland should get it right on integration. At its simplest, progressing migrants over the next few years will add to our collective productivity and wealth as a nation. A more diversified and integrated society will, by definition be a more stable country, and social stability is the key ingredient of all successful countries.
Conor Lenihan TD is the State’s first Minister for Integration and represents the Dublin South West constituency incorporating Tallaght, Templeogue, Green-hills and Firhouse
